Feral hogs a problem in West Alabama

Saturday

Feb 16, 2013 at 12:09 AM

Just about everybody who owns land or manages a lease for wildlife has experienced feral hog infestation. The Alabama Cooperative Extension System is holding a seminar, “Managing Wild Pig Damage,” March 2 at the Tuscaloosa County Extension Office at 2513 Seventh St., Tuscaloosa.

By Robert DeWittOutdoors Writer

TUSCALOOSA | Just about everybody who owns land or manages a lease for wildlife has experienced feral hog infestation. The Alabama Cooperative Extension System is holding a seminar, “Managing Wild Pig Damage,” March 2 at the Tuscaloosa County Extension Office at 2513 Seventh St., Tuscaloosa.“Right now, it’s getting pretty bad,” Tuscaloosa County Extension Agent Neal Hargle said. “We’re getting calls about them getting into some of the neighborhoods around Lake Tuscaloosa. They’re rooting some of the yards up. We are having some cases where people have reported being chased by feral pigs.”The seminar is designed to help people learn what they can do to control the feral hog population on their property and the damage hogs cause. The cost is $20 and online registration is encouraged in order to establish a head count for the noon meal. To register, visit www.aces.edu/go/314.The hogs in the Tuscaloosa County area are virtually all feral domestic hogs. No one knows exactly where they came from, Hargle said. But it’s suspected that most have either escaped from enclosures or were released into the wild by people wanting to establish a population to hunt.However, they have quickly become a nuisance, Hargle said, and there are stiff fines for transporting and releasing feral hogs.“The dollar amount of the crop damage, the timber damage and even landscaping damage is huge,” Hargle said.Despite their domestic roots, feral pigs in the area often look different from the barnyard animals.“We don’t have a true wild pig as much as we have feral pigs,” Hargle said. “But they wouldn’t look like the more common pink pig. They have adapted. There will be more hair on their body. Their snout will be longer. They can range up to 300 pound.”Even their body shape is different. Feral pigs tend to be large in the shoulders and smaller in the rear end, he said.They quickly become a nuisance because of their prolific reproduction and adaptability. A feral hog sow becomes sexually mature at only six months old and they can have two to three litters of eight to 12 piglets every year.They’re also intelligent, making them difficult to eradicate.“Once you’ve trapped them and eradicated them in an area, they won’t come back to that area,” Hargle said. “They avoid that trap.”And they have no natural predators. Even coyotes don’t prey on them.“The only predator they have is man and we do not do enough of it,” Hargle said.The seminar will run from 8 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. Other sponsors include The Tombigbee Resource Conservation and Development Council, the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries Division, USDA Wildlife Services and the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries.The seminar begins with coffee and donuts at 8 a.m. From 8:30-9 a.m., Jim Armstrong and either Frank Boyd or Dana Johnson will discuss the foundations and philosophy of damage management. Mark Smith will discuss wild hog history, biology and ecology from 9-9:40 a.m.Tony Frazier of the Alabama Department of Agriculture and industries will follow with a discussion of feral swine diseases, parasites and the implications for people and livestock. Following a break Chris Jaworowski will discuss methods of controlling feral swine.A Conservation Department law enforcement member will discuss the laws governing feral hog removal and that will be followed by a panel discussion. A catered barbecue lunch will be served between noon and 1 p.m.Jaworowski will finish up the seminar by demonstrating hog trap designs and techniques.For information, call 205-349-4630.